Waste receptacles have taken a variety of forms, including receptacles having open tops, removable lids, openable lids, and the like. For example, waste receptacles have included lids whereby the lid may be entirely removed from the receptacle, generally requiring the user to remove the lid with his or her hands. This can be somewhat difficult, especially if trash or other waste is currently being held by the user.
In view of this, other waste receptacles have been developed whereby the lid can be operated, such as by a foot pedal located near a lower end of the waste receptacle. These types of waste receptacles are much more convenient as a user is free to carry and insert waste while being able to open the lid with his or her foot.
However, such foot operated lids oftentimes include features that may interfere with and/or complicate the operation of the lid. For example, oftentimes the linkage may extend into the same general area as the waste and/or bag for receiving the waste. This is oftentimes a result of how the linkage operates from the foot pedal to the lid. In some forms, the foot pedal is rigidly coupled to an elongate linkage whereby the foot pedal and linkage pivots about a pivot point generally underneath the waste storage area. In one form, the pivot point is approximately halfway between the front and rear of the waste receptacle such that the foot pedal may need to move a significant distance to operate the lid. Further, as noted above, the movement of the pedal may interfere with the waste storage area or otherwise cause the volume of the waste storage area to be decreased as a result of the length of travel of the foot pedal and corresponding linkage.
Similarly, the foot pedal and associated linkage may extend through a front wall of the body of the waste receptacle. Again, in situations where the foot pedal pivots about a location generally underneath the waste storage area, the linkage and foot pedal generally travels a significant distance such that a slot or other opening is required in the front wall of the waste receptacle. This may add an undesirable appearance to the body of the waste receptacle, can complicate manufacturing and assembly, and cause other issues in the operation of the waste receptacle.
Furthermore, foot operated lids may also be susceptible to the lid slamming shut as the foot pedal is released and the lid moves towards the closed position. In this regard, some have incorporated dampers that are positioned on the body near the lid. These dampers may help provide a soft close functionality to the lid. However, these dampers may not offer much, if any, dampening to the remainder of the linkage assembly from the foot pedal to the lid. A damper connected to the body may also not provide sufficient dampening force to the foot pedal. In this regard, the foot pedal may move very quickly when closing, potentially causing damage to the body of the waste receptacle and potentially causing injury or otherwise undesirable feedback to the user's foot during operation if the linkage and foot actuator were to move rapidly towards the closed position.
The lid may also be difficult to maintain in the open position, such as when waste and/or the garbage bag is being removed from the waste receptacle. In some forms, the user may be required to maintain pressure on the foot pedal to keep the lid open. In other forms, some waste receptacles include a lock or tab on the body that can interact with the lid to prevent the lid from moving to the closed position. However, the lock may be cumbersome to operate, requiring one hand to fully open the lid and another hand to move the lock to the locked position.